Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters Strategies, Opportunities, and Planning for Recovery (2015) / Chapter Skim
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8 Social Services
8 Social Services
Pages 287-322
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From page 287... ...
By ensuring access to needed resources, social services can help mitigate impacts of disasters on vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, the social services sector has until only recently been largely excluded from preparedness and emergency management efforts (White, 2014)
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From page 288... ...
In developing its guidance, the committee identified the following key recovery strategies for the social services sector that should cut across all phases of the disaster cycle and that represent recurring themes throughout this chapter: • Build on existing relationships and establish comprehensive plans for collaboration among social service funders and providers, community- and faith-based organizations, and advocates to ensure coordinated social service delivery through all phases of disaster planning and recovery. • Integrate social services recovery plans into other disaster recovery services.
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From page 289... ...
To restate a central theme of this report, although disasters pose significant challenges to communities by further straining already fragile systems, they also provide an opportunity to create healthy communities -- in the present context, to achieve more integrated and sustainable models of social service delivery -- by building on disaster-related collaborations and creative uses of relief and recovery funds. DISASTER-RELATED SOCIAL SERVICES CHALLENGES Disasters generate increased demands on all social services because of impacts on vulnerable populations, the creation of newly vulnerable populations, interrupted service delivery, and displacement of both
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From page 290... ...
As the recovery progresses past the immediate crisis, opportunities exist for social services to evolve to incorporate holistic strategies targeted at achieving a healthy community. Many barriers to access (e.g., physical impairment, location, hours of operation, language)
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From page 291... ...
Also important is for those involved in recovery processes to assist with identifying sources of capital and financing for rebuilding in ways that support a healthy community, incorporate lessons learned, and continuously measure progress toward healthy community goals. Whenever possible, communities that have faced disasters can disseminate information valuable in improving social services and share lessons learned so that other jurisdictions can benefit from their recovery experiences.
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From page 292... ...
have fewer limitations than funds appropriated under the general SSBG program. Activities specifically permitted under SSBG-DR include food cards, child care vouchers, temporary housing, and repair or rebuilding of damaged facilities (including mental health facilities, child care centers, and other social service facilities)
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From page 293... ...
However, the fragmentation that exists during steady-state times poses significant challenges to coordination among social service providers after a disaster. And although many documents promoting improved disaster recovery stress the importance of cross-sector collaboration, such partnering often is difficult to achieve.
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From page 294... ...
Social service professionals can act as advocates for vulnerable populations, working with key community partners to ensure that their needs are met both before and after disasters. Such community partners include but are not limited to planning, housing, community development, and public health departments; schools; employment agencies; health care organizations; and their respective partner organizations in the forprofit, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors.
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The committee identified three key pre-disaster priorities in which the social services sector should be engaged to support pre-disaster recovery planning efforts: • Establishing Forums for Coordination and Collaboration Before and After Disasters • Establishing Mechanisms for Information Sharing After Disasters • Planning for Fluctuations in Social Services Workforce Needs Establishing Forums for Coordination and Collaboration Before and After Disasters Social service providers have limited resources to fulfill their missions even in non-disaster times. Thus, it is important to integrate pre-disaster planning into existing planning processes instead of creating additional processes.
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From page 296... ...
. Most social service clients are eligible for, and use, a wide variety of services; with proper attention to confidentiality and consent, information and documentation collected by one service provider can be shared with others.9 This allows service providers 9 The American Red Cross has an exemption from requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
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From page 297... ...
Communities that have developed a rapid assessment capacity for identifying social service needs consistent with state and local emergency response and recovery plans are better situated to identify and serve the expanded pool of vulnerable populations. The number of available providers fluctuates during different phases of disaster recovery.
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The aim is to include more than 400 community organizations that provide a range of social services, including food and nutrition assistance, shelter, transportation as sistance, housing assistance, and financial support. The information exchange portal uses technology to provide coordination of care for patients moving throughout the various health and social sectors.
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From page 299... ...
. Several resources can help in addressing the need for increased social services workforce capacity after a disaster.
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As recovery efforts continue into the intermediate and long terms, social service organizations can continue case management, offer ongoing psychosocial support, and help people manage their chronic conditions. As discussed previously, ensuring access to services is a critical part of meeting the post-disaster needs of low-income and other vulnerable populations.
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From page 301... ...
Messages about available resources and services can be integrated into general emergency management messages. It is also during this early phase that social service providers can begin to help individuals and families access disaster benefits by helping them compile needed portfolios of information.
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From page 302... ...
Case management for vulnerable populations frequently involves additional efforts at outreach; coordination with a wide range of agencies and organizations so these individuals can achieve stable living arrangements; and restoration and improvement of services tailored to ensuring that they can live as independently as possible. Many socially vulnerable people are enrolled in government assistance programs prior to a disaster; as a result of this ready access to their information, social service providers can more easily furnish them with information on special disaster benefits.
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From page 303... ...
. 12 After Hurricane Sandy, Congress enacted a nearly $475 million supplemental appropriation for the Social Services Block Grant to be devoted to social, health, and mental health services for individuals and to repair, renovate, and rebuild health care facilities, mental hygiene facilities, and child care and other types of social service facilities.
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From page 304... ...
The committee heard testimony that, both in non-disaster times and following a disaster, many social service clients experience repeated flare-ups of chronic conditions. Complicating this pattern is a behavioral health component: people with other chronic diseases are more likely to suffer from depression (Chapman et al., 2005)
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From page 305... ...
. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY Although the social services sector routinely addresses the needs of vulnerable populations, children and the elderly are especially vulnerable groups that require special consideration during pre-disaster planning and after an event.
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. Better integration of behavioral health and social services is needed to ensure that interventions reach the youngest and most vulnerable children.
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. To better meet the disaster-related needs of older adults, social service departments can develop specialized materials and training for emergency and other disaster recovery workers.
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Further, if communities develop disaster recovery forums/coordinating bodies, these entities can promote pre-disaster programming that identifies opportunities for elderly people to provide their varied expertise as volunteers during recovery. BUILDING A MORE RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL SERVICES SECTOR The recovery process itself can provide a foundation for building a stronger social services system by leveraging new resources, lessons learned, and partnerships developed in the aftermath of a disaster to achieve greater capacity and interoperability.
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From page 309... ...
The following steps should be taken to enable the development of the framework: • ASPR should commission a study to analyze federal programs related to disaster recovery social services and to generate recommendations for decreasing duplication and fragmentation, streamlining processes, and optimally meeting the needs of the affected populations. • Based on the results of this study, ASPR should work with federal and nonfederal partners -- including but not limited to FEMA, HHS (including ACF, SAMHSA, and the Health Resources and Services Administration)
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• Enhance efforts to increase accessibility and reach the most vulnerable populations to provide needed social services. • Promote ongoing evaluation and continuous learning to advance social services efforts in achieving health community goals.
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. £ Enhance regulatory and accreditation requirements for more intensive pre-event recovery planning by local and state social services agencies, health and medical system partners, behavioral health authorities, public health agencies, and local and state emergency management agencies using standard criteria.
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• Integrate social services recovery plans into other disaster recovery services. • Create compatible structures, policies, and procedures to promote the flow of funding and information across federal, state, and local systems.
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• Enhance efforts to increase accessibility and reach the most vulnerable populations to provide needed social services. • Integrate social services recovery plans into other disaster recovery services.
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• Enhance efforts to increase accessibility and reach the most vulnerable populations to provide needed social services. • Promote ongoing evaluation and continuous learning to advance social services efforts in achieving health community goals.
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• Enhance efforts to increase accessibility and reach the most vulnerable populations to provide needed social services. • Promote ongoing evaluation and continuous learning to advance social services efforts in achieving health community goals.
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From page 316... ...
£ Collect and compile service restoration timelines from key social services and health and medical system partners.
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From page 317... ...
• Focus on restoring normalcy through key community services/activities, such as child care, elder care, foster care, mental health services, schools, housing, jobs, and transportation. • Enhance efforts to increase accessibility and reach the most vulnerable populations to provide needed social services.
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From page 318... ...
Priority: Address the Unique Needs of Children and the Elderly Primary Actors: Social Services Agencies Key Partners: State/Local Health Departments, Child Care Organizations, Foster Care and Elder Care Organizations, Urban and Regional Planning Agencies, Education System, Transportation Agencies, Housing Agencies, Community- and Faith-Based Organizations, Health and Medical System Partners (including Nursing Homes) Key Recovery Strategies: • Create compatible structures, policies, and procedures to promote the flow of funding and information across federal, state, and local systems.
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From page 319... ...
, Community- and Faith-Based Organizations Key Recovery Strategies: • Integrate social services recovery plans into other disaster recovery services. • Enhance efforts to increase accessibility and reach the most vulnerable populations to provide needed social services.
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From page 320... ...
2014. Social Services Block Grant program (SSBG)
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From page 321... ...
2010. Boulder County: County deploys collaborative social services tool, wait times drop from weeks to hours.
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Paper presented at IOM Committee on Post-Disaster Recovery of a Community's Public Health, Medical, and Social Services: Meeting Two, February 3, Washington, DC.
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